1. Field:
The invention is concerned with apparatus for gasification of carbonaceous solids, such as finely divided coal, and particularly with the type of apparatus disclosed by Coates U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,123 of Oct. 26, 1976.
2. State of the Art:
The Coates apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,123 was developed at Brigham Young University and the Eyring Research Institute under funding provided by the United States Energy Research and Development Administration for carrying out a process of gasification concurrently developed. It constitutes an advanced form of apparatus for gasification of carbonaceous solids and provides a series of three processing stages in vertical arrangement. The uppermost or combustion stage comprises a gasification reaction chamber into which are fed the reactants, usually a stream of oxygen and steam and a separate stream of gas-entrained carbonaceous solids. The reaction gases and molten ash in the form of slag globules descend through a second, i.e. water quench, stage to and through a third, i.e. heat recovery, stage comprising a shell and tube heat exchanger. The product gas and the particulate solidified slag are passed to a separate scrubber stage for separation.